particulars look like this: "The hallmarks of Creative, Literary or Narrative Nonfiction
are truth and personal presence. The genre includes subjective and
objective streams, and encompasses memoir, autobiography, biography,
history, adventure, travel, and true crime. The writer of nonfiction
employs memory, imagination, analysis, and research, and adapts literary
techniques from fiction, journalism, and the essay. This craft-oriented
course aims to enhance your ability to tell true stories." You can find out more at the link above. Also:

Re: 50 Canadians Who Changed the
World. I very much appreciate the spirited review that turned up in today’s
National Post. Vit Wagner makes some
good points (see here). He’s right to mention Lester B. Pearson. I’m a great admirer of
Pearson, and I was sorely tempted to include him even though he was born three
years before 1900, my admittedly self-imposed cut-off date. But the idea was to
paint a portrait of cutting-edge Canada, and to celebrate 20th-century
Canadians who are shaping the 21st century. I stand by my decision. On the other hand, I
fear I was wrong to omit Mordecai Richler, my all-time favorite Canadian novelist. I
have apologized for that here. The one extenuating circumstance I neglected to
mention is that, as an ex-Montrealer, I was feeling guilty about the
preponderance of Montrealers. If you count them, you will see what I mean. As
for Northrop Frye and Robert Lepage, they turn up in my epilogue, which
presents a starter-list for Another 50
Canadians Who Changed the World. Neil
Young? The Performers category in 50 Canadians, which
encompasses actors, musicians, and athletes, is already the largest in the
book. Next time, sure. Oh, but I do stand by the inclusion of Celine Dion, quite
apart from album-sales numbers. After quoting music critic Carl Wilson, who wrote an entire
book about his distaste for Dion, and inviting her detractors to please go here, I
added: “In my view, Celine Dion changed the world not only by demonstrating the
range of the human voice in the context of pop music, but above all by
introducing the spirit of French Canada to those who have never known it.” For the rest, I would refer you to the book.

This morning took us out to Burlington to talk about 50 Canadians in the Different Drummer Book & Author Series. Would you believe that this series has been running since 1975? It may well be the oldest bookstore-based reading-talking-and-seriously-buying series in Canada. The only contender I can think of

is the Books-and-Breakfast series operated by Paragraphe Books in Montreal. This morning, my fellow authors were David Macfarlane and Rachel Joyce, and a fine trio we made. The tables were piled high with our books. We must have addressed an audience of nigh unto 300. What happens is that people subscribe to the literary series in advance, the way they might to a theatre

season. Today's event was the last in the autumn run, which included three mornings and nine authors. Afterwards, Cogeco television interviewed each of the authors. Gotta love that community involvement. A Different Drummer is legendary among Canadian independents, and this morning, we could see why.

Before turning mainly to books about arctic exploration and Canadian history, Ken McGoogan worked for two decades as a journalist at major dailies in Toronto, Calgary, and Montreal. He teaches creative nonfiction writing through the University of Toronto and in the MFA program at King’s College in Halifax. Ken served as chair of the Public Lending Right Commission, has written recently for Canada’s History, Canadian Geographic, and Maclean’s, and sails with Adventure Canada as a resource historian. Based in Toronto, he has given talks and presentations across Canada, from Dawson City to Dartmouth, and in places as different as Edinburgh, Melbourne, and Hobart.